How to Paint a Bathroom

     Even though a bathroom may be the smallest room in your home, it is often the most difficult to paint.  This is due to all the items in the bathroom as well as all the hard to reach corners.  When you are painting a bathroom, you must plan ahead.  I am going to give you some suggestions today so that you have some ideas of how to ensure that your bathroom gets painted efficiently and turns out beautifully.

     First, it is important to declutter the bathroom.  To cut down on the time that it is going to take you to paint, get rid of everything that you could possibly move in the bathroom.  Begin with your vanity and the shower stall and tub.  Remove all items that sit on the shelves.  It will keep the items from being knocked over or messing up your paint job.  Now it is time to remove switch plates.  Some people like to tape switch plates, but I find that removing them is just as easy and will get a cleaner result.  You will also find that removing your towel bars, toilet paper holders, and hooks will also help you achieve a cleaner paint job.  Some people remove the lights on the mirror.  This is optional for you.  To get back behind your toilet, you may have to take the top of the toilet tank off.  Once you have a blank slate, it is time to move on to step two, cleaning.

     It is very important that you clean the walls before painting.  This can be done with window cleaner and any mild ammonia cleaner.  The reason why this is so important is because in a bathroom, people spray products such as hair spray, perfume, cologne, or deodorant.  The residue that is left behind by those products can impede the painting process, so you need to make sure you clean your walls.

     The next step is one that many people often neglect, which is caulking.  Now you might be wondering why this is important.  It is necessary to achieve clean and professional results.  If there are any gaps between your countertop and cabinets or edges of the tub or shower, you should caulk before painting.  Also be sure that if you have tile, it is not missing any grout.  There is grout-colored caulk available at your hardware store that you can use in these gaps that looks just like grout. 

     Now it is time to make that bathroom look just like you wanted, and you will achieve this by painting.  If you use a deep colored paint, be sure to wait a couple of days before using the shower or letting the bathroom get steamy.  The reason I say this is because it can take up to a month for the latex paint to fully cure.  The colorant that is found in deeper paint has been known to run a little, which may cause a patchy appearance that you want to avoid.  When choosing paint, you may want to consider a satin finish.  Also ask your paint supplier if they carry a paint that is mildew resistant.  In a bathroom, you have tiny little corners and spaces that you will need to paint.  It is best to be prepared with a number of brushes, some of which should be small to reach those very hard to reach corners.  As suggested earlier, remove the top of the toilet to get behind the toilet to paint.  While it is not necessary to paint the entire wall since no one will see it, some people want to.  If you are one of those people, you can purchase a skinny roller that is sold at all paint stores that will fit between the wall and the toilet.

     I hope that these directions were helpful to you and that you enjoy your new bathroom! 

Some people like to remove items from the walls while others prefer painter's tape.

Caulking is a step that is often forgotten before painting.

Be sure to have a number of different sized paintbrushes to reach small corners.

You will need a paint roller to paint large areas.

Be sure to choose the colors of your bathroom paint carefully so that you are happy with the end result.